Mitchell.  Wow all these questions....  Lets get a report out.... 

What are the inspection parameters?

Well naturally, we are all members of some Organization, which mean we have a Base Standards of practice to follow.  I fo your want to go beyond the Standards of practice, you then have to answer for yourself, what kind of trouble can I get myself into?  If you decide to do Radon Testing, you better be trained to do this because if you are put before a judge, he will want to make sure you are qualified to do this test.  I do not offer any more than what I am qualified to do, others, I may have to tread in some Hot water.

Where are they written?

Well the standards are at your Organization.  That we all know.  Anything above and beyond you will have to look around your area and see what other inspectors do.  The basic idea here is duty of care, and you could be in issue if the standard in your area is to offer certain services above and beyond, you may be accountable for this also.

Telling a client not to buy the house?

 I never do this.  It is not my call to buy or not buy, that is up to the Buyer.  Now, I can see where the buyer may say is is leaning to not buy, but I would only discuss this with the Real Estate present.  I would not be in a situation where it looks like I killed a Deal directly.

Giving estimates to repair? 

I don't give repair estimates, since I don't really know how much things cost.  I recommend getting three different quotes.  If I tell them a Number and it is short, I may be on the hook for the difference...

Commenting on cosmetic? 

My Inspection Agreement clearly states that I will not report on cosmetic issues that can clearly be visible to the naked Eye.  If there is a scratch on the door, it should be quite visible and it really doesn't need to be stated, unless it is a safety concern or restricts the functionality. 

Telling the client about negotiations?

I do no such negotiation for me, so there is nothing to tell. Once the buyer has the report and wishes to use the report to leverage a lower price, that is up to them and the Agent to discuss.

Telling the client it's a known drug neighborhood?

If that was the case, I would be placing a disclaimer in all my reports that any neighborhood that has teens is likely a neighborhood with drugs.  But I know what you really mean.  I would assume that the owner would have been advised of that by the Agent.

Telling the client that the next door neighbor's dog didn't stop barking?

Tell on thy neighbor.  Well you really don't know if the dog is there for one day, one week, or is a permanent resident.  So here I would say, report on the home and move on.

That there is a waste dump and when the wind blows a bad odor appears?

Yes, I do inform my clients of this of significant importance around them.  Here I have a potential area that is set to be developed as an International Airport.  I just advise my clients that there is a major lot of land north of here that is zoned to have an International airport, and could mean air traffic over there home.  Having lived in an air corridor, it is actually not bad. 

Testing appliances?

I do as they are part of the standards of practice, but I only test what is staying with the home. 

Mentioning permits?

I mention that a particular work may not have been inspected by an authoritative jurisdiction, and they may want to have the installation inspected. Recently had a home where the electrical addition was clearly a do it your selfer.  Here I recommended a electrical inspection, best to go on the safe side.

So what is out of bounds?

 Out of bound for me is anything that I am not trained to comment on.  If I do, I am likely to be making an educated guess that could be wrong, and could lead to more trouble.

Off the record or on the written report... be careful what you say.  Someone will repeat what you say.  Your inspection is affecting a lot of people down the line.

John

I only tell my client the truth(as I see it) and yes it does affect  a lot of people down the line. The only people that I'm concerned with is my client. If a Realtor decides not to "use me" anymore because of what I say that's ok.

I have yet to see a court case that involved an inspector and the seller or listing agent.  Our clients come to us for help we make no other money in the transaction except our fee. Some Realtors obfuscate the problems we find.

Example doing a home and I find polybutylene piping.http://www.polybutylene.com/poly.html I tell my client about it and suggest more info can be found on the www.  Client calls me to do another inspection and I ask her what happened and she told me the Realtor said it was not a problem. Client did her dd and found it was a problem. 

Now this particular Realtor and I worked together for at least five years. I haven't heard from her since that incident years ago. 

Some things are the responsibility of the buyer.  Some things should be between buyer and agent.  I test appliances IF they are part of the sale.  All the other things you mentioned above I bite my tongue.  They are all outside the parameters of an inspection.

Informing your client about polybutylene is part of your job, just as it is to inform them of the lawsuits and problems surrounding EIFs or composition siding.  I pretty much stick to my states Standards of Practice.  In fact it's against the law here in Wisconsin to tell a client not to buy a house.

I always tell my client the truth and any HI that's not telling the truth isn't doing the job they were hired to do, but telling them the carpeting is dirty or that there's a dog that barks next door, or informing them of the type of neighborhood is in my eyes beyond the scope.  My feelings are directly inline with Bernards on what I report on and what I don't. 

I think all are in bounds under the proper circumstances. We should work for our clients benefit.

If a law in my state said I couldn't tell my client if they should not buy a house. I would love the jurors reaction to absolute pos and me telling my client to let it go. Yes you do have to be careful how you say something no need for WW lll.

If a loved one was buying a house in some far away place I am positive that you would be more than grateful for the inspectors brutally honest home inspection. 

I try to make my verbal comments as true to my written report as possible. Help me know what I may have said and can help trigger my old memory a few years down the road.

I will mention anything that affects the safety of the client, a dog barking next door, no; but a pit-bull lunging at the broken down fence, yes.

Appliances, yes if built-in.

Odor, yes if I know the sewage treatment plant is across the road.

No estimates, no negotiations, don't tell them not to buy the house (well once, and they bought it anyway)

Drug neighborhood or missing copper, yes.

The TRUTH, the whole TRUTH and nothing but the TRUTH. I am not an agent so that is an area I would never comment on, only on the relative points I am familiar with.

Thats a good list but some states require us to check appliances

Mitchell,

I follow the ASHI standards of practice. If it doesn't look right, write it up. Being a code compliance inspector I always have to stop and think before writing something down when I'm doing home inspections.

Alaska Don 

Don

That's great. Now do you follow the standards or do you exceed the standards as allow by the standards?

Mitchell,

I find it difficult not to exceed the the ASHI standards. The wording has to be carefully thought out. I've been doing code compliance on new construction for so many years, that I tend revert to code on home inspections if I'm not carefull. But, yes I do exceed the "standards".